Coming out may lower a person's risk of depression, anxiety and burnout a new study has found.

According to Canadian scientists, lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGBs) who come out to other people have lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, which can have a significant effect on their physical and mental health.

The scientists from the University of Montreal originally set out to determine if the physical and mental health of LGBs is different from that of heterosexuals. They also wanted to see if coming out affected health in any way.

They assessed a number of different factors, including psychiatric symptoms and cortisol levels. They noted that if a person is under major strain, cortisol can adversely affect many different body systems, including the immune system, the circulatory system and the nervous system. This strain is known as allostatic load.

The study found that lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals who had already come out to family and friends ‘had lower levels of psychiatric symptoms and lower morning cortisol levels than those who were still in the closet'.

The study included almost 90 men and women aged around 25.

The team noted that coming out is a ‘major milestones' in the lives of LGBs that has not been studied extensively.

"These exciting findings underline the role self-acceptance and disclosure has on the positive health and wellbeing of LGBs," the scientists said.

They acknowledged that coming out may only benefit health ‘when there are tolerant social policies that facilitate the disclosure process'.

If society is intolerant of homosexuality, coming out may impair a person's self-acceptance, leading to increased stress and health problems.

"Coming out is no longer a matter of popular debate, but a matter of public health. Internationally, societies must endeavour to facilitate this self-acceptance by promoting tolerance, progressing policy and dispelling stigma for all minorities," the team added.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Psychosomatic Medicine.